Ballast Inc. Trims Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Ballast Inc. reduced its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,830 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 918 shares during the period. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Northern Trust during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 27,874 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.50, for a total value of $2,801,337.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at $4,630,839. This trade represents a 37.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Teresa Parker sold 4,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.86, for a total value of $447,717.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 79,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,000,820.36. The trade was a 5.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 82,151 shares of company stock worth $8,489,889 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on NTRS shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Northern Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $84.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.17.

Northern Trust Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $106.87 on Friday. Northern Trust Co. has a 12-month low of $76.67 and a 12-month high of $111.87. The stock has a market cap of $21.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.73.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation, a financial holding company, provides wealth management, asset servicing, asset management, and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families, and individuals worldwide. It operates in two segments, Asset Servicing and Wealth Management. The Asset Servicing segment offers asset servicing and related services, including custody, fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, investment management, investment risk and analytical services, employee benefit services, securities lending, foreign exchange, treasury management, brokerage services, transition management services, banking, and cash management services.